A Leaf in the Rain
by Brigita Loraine
Summary: When Kakashi-sensei is late to training once more, Team 7 takes it upon themselves to find their supposed teacher. After breaking and entering into Kakashi's apartment, the team stumble upon photographs of a young girl hidden in their sensei's floor. Making it their mission to uncover the truth, Team Kakashi becomes Detective Uzumaki and Gang, or at least that's what Naruto thinks.
1. Enter Detective Uzumaki and Gang!

**A/N:** Hi Everyone! I started writing this years ago! I have finally gotten into the groove of writing again. I had to make a new account because the email associated with my previous account is no longer active. I emailed support to try and get back into my old account, but I wanted to start this one again in the meantime. The original story to this is titled  Detective Uzumaki and Gang by luvUnionJack202012 (my old account). If I am able to get back into that account in the near future, I will delete the content from there and post anything I continue in this account. I hope that makes sense!

Also, this is a KakashixOC story. If you have any issues with OCs, I urge you to not read further. He is my favorite character in the series, so I wanted to continue this!

* * *

A LEAF IN THE RAIN

1.) Enter Detective Uzumaki and Gang! Believe It!

Footsteps steadily approached their destination as words of worry and anticipation silently passed amongst them. The beating of three young hearts could be heard clearly as they were about to make their entry. What waited for them on the other side? No one knew.

"Naruto are you sure about this? We could possibly be walking towards our death! Did you see what he did to Sasuke?!"

"Chill Sakura! It's only Kakashi-sensei. Besides if he wasn't _four_ hours late to training then we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?"

"Even if he was a little late, we shouldn't be doing this! It's wrong and if we get caught..." Sakura paused midway, afraid to think of their soon-to-be fate.

"Calm down Sakura! I'm here so you'll be alright! Believe it!"

"Hn. Idiot."

"What did you say, bastard?! I don't see you doing anything to help out!"

"Hn."

"Is that all you can..." Naruto was abruptly cut off as Sakura's powerful fist met his shoulder.

"Don't talk to Sasuke that way N-A-R-U-T-O! If anyone's gonna protect us, it's definitely going to be Sasuke! He's just so strong," Sakura began as she sighed dreamily, "and you're just dumb!"

"WHAT?! SAKURA! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT TO ME?!"

"Will you two just get on with it?"

"Yeah! Sasuke's right, Naruto. Just hurry up and get us inside! It's dark, I'm cold, and someone could very well find us outside of Kakashi-sensei's window. We live in a ninja village after all!"

"You're so smart, Sakura!"

"Hurry up, Dope."

"I'm going, believe it!"

Naruto slowly tried to pry open his sensei's window, only to find it jammed tight. He pulled and shoved, but his attempts were futile. In the end, Sakura was able to open the cursed window – forcefully.

As the trio warily stepped inside, they realized that Kakashi's flat was extremely empty. Releasing their breaths, they began their mission – find Kakashi-sensei and drag him to training! Each of the Genin explored a different room, but they soon came to realize that Kakashi-sensei wasn't here.

"Where is Purvey-sensei anyways?!" Naruto groaned as he flopped onto the couch.

"Hn."

"Is that all you say, you bastard?! 'Hn!' I didn't even know that counted as a word!"

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT! STOP DEGRADING SASUKE LIKE THAT!"

"Sakura! I didn't mean it! Please don't hurt me!"

Naruto picked himself up from the couch and began moving towards the window for a possible escape route. However, Sakura wasn't going to allow him refuge that easily. As she made a tight fist, she charged towards Naruto who quickly ducked and scampered around the room. Their little chase continued for a few minutes. Naruto would run and Sakura would chase as Sasuke sat on the couch wondering why he had those two idiots for teammates.

However, as Naruto was making his escape, he managed to trip on the corner of the rug and land flat on his face. Sakura, who was now charging at full speed, found that she could not stop herself in time and found herself on top of Naruto within a few minutes.

"Che. You're both idiots."

"S-Sasuke..."

"Feh. Sasuke!"

"Well are you two going to stay like that forever?"

Sakura blushed and quickly stood up, but not before giving Naruto and punch to the back of his head. Again, Naruto found himself falling towards the floor. He braced himself for the impact, but when he reached the ground, a few of the wooden floor boards split.

"Oh no?! Kakashi-sensei's going to give me the 'One Thousand Years of Death' again! "

"Well that's what you get for breaking his floor!"

"You were the one who punched me, Sakura!"

At his statement, Sakura bent down and grabbed a fistful of the blond's hair. "Come again?" Naruto was about to reply, but he noticed a small item tucked beneath the floor.

"Sakura, look down there." The pink-haired kunoichi followed Naruto's gaze and sure enough, there was a little brown box. Releasing her grip, she slowly picked up the object and the three Genin gathered around it.

"What if there's something dangerous in it? It could be a secret jutsu."

"Hn. Why would Kakashi-sensei have a secret jutsu in an old box."

"Yeah, yeah! Sasuke is right! I think we should open it! Believe it!"

"Oh, shut up Naruto!"

"Sakura..."

"I'll open it."

"Oh, Sasuke, you are just so brave!"

Slowly, the Uchiha dusted the box off and opened the lid as they all watched with wide eyes. Once the lid was finally off, they all backed up - just in case it was actually a secret jutsu.

"Well nothing strange came out of the box. I think it might be safe."

"Yeah."

"Cool! I can't wait to see what Kakashi-sensei has been hiding from us!"

The trio approached the box and were slightly disappointed when they only found crumpled paper and several photographs.

"This stuff is all junk! Why would sensei keep it under the floor, anyways?"

"I know."

"No. It's not junk."

"What do you mean, Sakura?"

"Did you even bother to look at these? These photos were taken in the Hidden Leaf with people we all know."

Sasuke and Naruto quickly grabbed the box and began rummaging through the pictures. There they were, pictures of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. There were pictures of Guy-sensei and Kakashi-sensei and other people in the village.

"Ok. So? There's always pictures of the village."

"But Sasuke... Did you look closely at them? Every single picture has the same girl in it."

"Yeah! Sakura's right! Look!"

As Sasuke looked, he could see what Sakura meant. There was this one, tiny girl that was always in the pictures. She wasn't anything special. in fact, if you put her in a crowd, she would definitely blend in. Sakura and Ino would stand out due to their bright hair color and even Hinata with those moon-like eyes of hers. Heck, even the idiot next to him would! How could you possibly miss an orange jumpsuit! But this girl was so plain. She had short black hair and brown eyes - very ordinary.

"So?"

"So, obviously this girl means something to Kakashi-sensei! Oh my! She could be his lover! That's so romantic! A forbidden love that was never meant to be, but due to fate, they were separated and never seen together again!" Sakura concluded with hearts in her eyes as tears threatened to spill. Naruto blushed, but Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem like the type to have romantic feelings toward a girl."

"You do have a point, but maybe…"

"Give it a rest, Sakura."

"Sasuke..."

"Hey, hey! You guys! Did you read these papers...er...well, they're more like pieces of papers."

Sakura grabbed the crumpled pieces and began scanning. "These don't make any sense. They look like random notes."

"They are random notes!"

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TELLING ME TO READ THEM YOU IDIOT!"

"Chill Sakura. They're not just any random notes. They're in Kakashi-sensei's handwriting."

Sasuke took a peek at them and it was definitely the Jounin's scribbled words.

"Still... I don't know what they mean."

"That's ok! Let's think of this as a mission!"

"A mission?"

"Mhmm! An S-ranked mission!"

"Idiot."

"Hey! Look, don't you wanna know who that girl is! For all we know they could've been lovers or enemies! Either way, she had to be important to him if she was underneath his floor."

Sasuke's ears picked up. She could very well be an enemy. She looks small and fragile, but so did that Hyuga girl. However, one night of watching her train soon rid him of any thoughts about her being weak.

"Fine."

"Count me in."

"Hehe. Now entering 'Detective Uzumaki and Gang!' Believe it!"

"Idiot."

* * *

Meanwhile in the training fields, a very confused Jounin was wondering where everyone was.

"Oh well. Not my problem they have to do extra practice tomorrow." He said mildly as he took out his beloved book.


	2. Detective Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki

**A/N:** So, I had a bit of late night inspiration! This chapter went in a totally different direction than I had originally planned. Warning, SasuHina ahead, I couldn't help myself XD A BIG thank you to all my readers and reviewers! You motivated me to keep writing, and I'm so happy with what I've come up with! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

2.) Detective Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki

Sasuke groaned vehemently as glimpses of light peeked into his room. Forcing himself out of bed, he ran his hands through his hair, trying to ruffle out the peaks that had formed from laying flat too long. After brushing his teeth and getting dressed, the Uchiha descendent made his way across the village to the training grounds he had come have a love-hate relationship with.

"Naruto…" he grumbled has the dirt under his feet.

 _I knew this was going to happen. That idiot. It wasn't my idea to leave yesterday. Naruto just had to find Kakashi, which didn't even happen! That dumbass._

Sasuke continued to state all of the reasons to his self as to why Naruto made the worst shinobi ever. _That idiot is going to kill all of us before we even have a chance to go on an actual mission. How can I get stronger when he is a part of our group? I need to get stronger, and this is just a jo-_

Exciting himself into a state of anger, Sasuke almost missed the reason he took the long way to the training grounds—Hinata Hyuga. Walking past the brush the hid the punching stump, Sasuke casually walked closer to the area that Hinata came to practice at. Don't get him wrong; he is not giving Hinata any attention, whatsoever.

He happened upon her by accident, well by Naruto, which itself is an accident, possibly three. One day while they were walking, Sakura managed to punch Naruto too far into the woods for some idiotic comment he made about her hair or clothes or whatever girls, err Sakura, got mad about. Being the sensible one, he went to help him, not out of kindness. Kakashi would have made them miss lunch again if they showed up to training short one person. Well, Naruto just happened to fall shy of Hinata Hyuga.

Hinata, of course, bowed enormously, stuttered profusely, and fell at least once according to the Uchiha. Naruto, being Naruto, brushed her off before running back to Sakura to apologize for being an idiot. _That idiot._ Sasuke acknowledge the Hyuga before turning to follow Naruto. What nobody noticed, however, is that he saw the dried, crusted scabs forming on her knuckles in between her many bows and apologies.

And so, here he was. Silently supporting Hinata, for she also has a goal she was training for. This was the only reason he walked this way, to make sure that she was also on the fast track to be a Chunin. _Well, she was getting better. Kinda._

Sasuke silently and slowly continued his walk to the training grounds when the irregular scuffling of feet caught his attention. _Oh no._

"Sasuke! Wait up you bastard!"

 _Ugh._ Immediately, he ducked behind the nearest bush he could find.

"Sasuke! Sasuke? What, I thought that was him, for sure. Believe it! Oh, hey Hinata."

"N-N-N-Naru-"

"Well, bye Hinata, keep up the practice!"

"Uh, uh y-y-yeah. Oh! S-Sasuke! A-A-Are you alright? D-Did you fall? N-Naruto was j-just looking f-f-for you."

Realizing his position on the floor, Sasuke quickly sat up. "No. Che." Standing fully erect, he decided it was a decent time to leave, quickly.

"O-Oh. O-Okay, uh, b-bye."

"Bye." _Naruto…you idiot._

Grumbling, Sasuke hastened his pace until he could see the annoyingly bright heads of his teammates. _How lame._

* * *

"Sorry team, I got lost on the path of li-"

"WHAT!?" Naruto and Sakura screamed in unison.

"What?"

"Kakashi-sensei, how is it that you are always late to training, but when we leave after you don't show up, we get punished?" Naruto asked, his hands folded across his chest.

"I told you, Naruto, I got lost-"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Alright, alright, calm down, Naruto. No need to be so hyperactive this early in the morning."

"I'm this way because of you!"

"You are really taking this whole calming down thing to heart, huh? Alright, assume formation."

As Team Kakashi's morning training passed without any upset, Naruto decided it would be a good idea to ask his sensei about the girl in the pictures during lunch.

With the sun high in the sky, the team settled about around a tree as they unpacked their bento boxes. Both Sakura and Sasuke did not waste any time in devouring their food. Naruto, on the other hand, had a different agenda.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"What is it, Naruto? I thought you would have been the first to finish your food?"

"Look, Kakashi-sensei, do you like girls?"

"Well, of course I do."

"What kind of girls do you like?"

"Well, the curvy, voluptuous kinds, similar to the women in-"

"Gross! Kakashi-sensei, do not even mention that poor excuse for a novel," Sakura chimed in.

"No! Let's try this again. If you were, say, our age. What kind of girls would you like?" Naruto corrected.

"At your age, I was put on highly classified missions. I didn't have time for that kind of leisure."

"Hn." Irritated at Kakashi's cockiness, Sasuke decided it was time to take over the situation. "Then who is the girl in the pictures?"

"What pictures?"

"SASUKE! You bastard! I was handling this! You always have to be the center of attention. Sasuke this, and Sasuke that."

"N-A-R-U-T-O! Shut up!" Saukra yelled, "I will not tolerate you upsetting the balance of this team."

"Yeah, yeah, you just mean Sasuke," Naruto responded as he made what appeared to be a fishy face at Sakura.

Eyes wide and face red, Sakura's fist clenched. "N-A-R-U-T-O!" Ready to take a swing at her fellow teammate, Naruto was lucky to be saved by a very confused instructor.

"What pictures?" Kakashi inquired once more.

As Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke looked at each other, they realized that they would just have to come clean. Sakura started by explaining how they tried to look for him at his apartment when he didn't show up to training yesterday. Naruto continued by explaining the situation inside, ultimately leading up to the discovery of the box in the floor with the pictures of the girl and random notes by him.

After explaining their situation, the Genin looked up at Kakashi, expecting to meet a face full of irritation and annoyance at their behavior. However, the look they received scared them all. Kakashi looked terrifyingly serious and alarmed.

"Training will cease for today," he remarked, before packing up his lunch and leaving the group to wonder at who exactly this girl was.


	3. Finally! A Break in the Case! Chyah!

**A/N:** I am having so much fun writing this story! This is the last of the old content from my previous account with major updates! I am also going to fix up two of the other stories from my previous account, expect some major SasuHina! YAYYY! If you look on my profile and find my companion website, there are pictures for the girl in the pictures!

I would also just like to thank the following for their reviews! You guys really kept me going!

fanofthisfiction

WidowedBite

Anie-Lill

Risuna23

Thank you for your support and your feedback! :D Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

3.) Finally! A Break in the Case! Chyah!

Sakura found herself to be in quite the predicament. She couldn't sleep. It had almost been two whole days since they found the box and she found that her mind continuously wandered too whoever that girl was. Sitting up, the rose-haired kunoichi placed a ribbon in her hair and dressed to go train.

 _Oh well, I might as well considering we didn't do much today._

While she was walking, Sakura's thoughts consisted of the girl and of Sasuke. She figured that Sasuke must've thought she was a complete love-craving fool. When she first saw the picture of the girl, she wasn't one hundred percent sure that the girl was Kakashi-sensei's lover. It was just the mere thought of the possibility that excited her. To her, Kakashi-sensei reminded her of Team Seven - herself, Naruto, and Sasuke. The Jounin is one of the elite ninja of the village, but he was so aloof yet so carefree. If there was even a possibility that Kakashi-sensei had once been in love, then there was hope for her and Sasuke to be together too. And that's what excited her! The possibility that her love for Sasuke might be returned! However, after today's events, she seriously doubted it.

In the middle of her walk, Sakura stopped for she happened upon a sudden revelation. Those pictures were taken in the Hidden Leaf, so someone besides Kakashi-sensei would have the answers that they were looking for.

 _But who would know? I need to see those pictures again. Chyah!_

Now full of energy, she decided to skip the training and go find Naruto, who probably was doing nothing to solve this mystery.

 _Detective Uzumaki my butt! That idiot!_

If she couldn't solve who this mystery girl was, then there really was no chance of anyone else solving it. They already asked Kakashi-sensei, who was absolutely useless.

What Sakura could not figure out, however, was why Kakashi-sensei had the reaction he did. From the looks of the box, it didn't seem that anyone had opened it in years.

 _She obviously wasn't very important to him, but what if he was trying not to remember who she was? Or what if those pictures weren't even his? What! Of course they were his, because he was in them. Duh, Sakura!_

As Sakura approached Team Seven's training grounds, she decided to head to Naruto's place instead. Cutting through the underbrush, she decided a detour would be faster than walking back the way she came.

After twenty minutes of trudging along, unaware of where she really was, Sakura determined she was lost. All of the trees looked the same in the darkness. Walking further along, she found herself staring at the root of the problem she was having, Kakashi-sensei.

 _Why is he here? At this time?_

His back was turned to her and he seemed to be in deep thought. As she walked closer, she realized that he was staring intently at a rock.

She didn't dare to interrupt him. Sakura maintained her hidden position in one of the surrounding bushes. She realized that if she were to move further, he would hear her and then that would be a disastrous situation.

As Sakura watched her instructor intently, she came across the realization that he appeared to leave his guard down, but she knew the Jounin too well to know that he wouldn't ever do that.

 _He looks sort of sad and-_

"Sakura."

"Y-yes Kakashi-sensei?" Surprised by his awareness, Sakura quickly stood up, brushing the leaves that caught themselves on her ribbon.

"Go home."

Sakura knew that he only wanted her to get enough sleep for training in the morning, but the way he said it - so bluntly - triggered her already sensitive emotions from the day.

Sniffling, she couldn't help conceal the few tears that strolled down her face. Realizing his situation, Kakashi stayed still and silent while the young kunoichi cried. It was only after the tears subsided and her breathing returned to normal, did he bother facing her. As he turned around, he was slightly surprised to find Sakura to looking at him.

His breath became trapped in his throat as he faced her. Due to her crying, Sakura's eyes were slightly bloodshot and puffy; her cheeks became red and swollen as tears dried to her face. As Kakashi looked at his student, his mind drifted back to another young kunoichi just trying to make it through the Academy. He had once caught her crying behind an ivy bush, and she looked just as Sakura did now. This kunoichi's eyes were aggravated because of consistent rubbing and her nose kept running.

Looking at Sakura now, he tried to stifle a smirk. When he was younger, he honestly didn't care much about people. He thought about his Academy days, and when he found her crying behind an ivy bush, he didn't offer solace—no he didn't. Instead he offered factual information. 'That's poisonous ivy.' he had said. A light chuckle escaped his masked lips at the memory.

As Sakura heard his laugh, her emotions turned into anger.

 _Why is he laughing?! His poor kunoichi is upset, and he's laughing?! CHYAH! What kind of teacher is he supposed to be?_

Furious, Sakura stormed off to find Naruto, leaving a very confused Jounin once more.

* * *

Most people would consider this stalking, but he considered it observation. When he first found her training, he thought she was just wasting time. She was always slow on missions and instead of fighting off their enemies, her teammates were always defending her. It became a real problem with the prodigy, but when he watched her train at midnight, he felt like there was more to her than she let on. He wasn't in love, he was simply curious. And his curiosity soon turned into silent support.

He had a thousand crazy fan-girls and she wasn't one of them, instead she carried a crush for the Leaf's most likely to fail ninja. She's heir to one of the most prestigious clans, yet she's terrible at fighting, but she still comes out here to train. Hinata Hyuga was indeed an interesting subject.

Sasuke moved a little on the branch. Yes, he was on a branch. But it was the best vantage point so as to not be seen. It's been about an hour since he came here and he was getting kinda bored. The Hyuga just kept on punching the same stump as her hands continued to bleed. Making himself comfortable, Sasuke's thoughts drifted off to the yesterday's events. Naruto had been an idiot and Sakura had been... well Sakura. The only thing that peaked his interest was the girl in the picture. The dobe was right... the girl could've been one of Kakashi-sensei's enemies. Maybe the notes in the box were a formula for a new jutsu to take her down, or maybe they were her location. He really didn't care what the notes were, but if she was an enemy he wanted to aid in her destruction. It would only enhance his ability to defeat his low-life brother.

Sasuke was thrown out of his reverie when he heard a soft thud. It seemed that the little Hyuga had grown weary from her midnight training. Once she completely passed out, he made his way over. Placing a hand on her forehead, he noted that she wasn't sick, merely just worn out. Checking her pulse, he also noted that she was indeed unconscious. Sitting her up against the stump, Sasuke stole a second glance at her as he began to walk away. She would wake up soon enough and wonder how she ended up in a sitting position again. Then she would take a look at the effects of her training and go down to the bank to wash her hands and make her way home, hoping her father or Neji wouldn't notice her absence.

These were his observations.

As he strolled, strided, back to the village's center, he noticed Sakura marching away.

 _This is what I got stuck with. Che._

Figuring, he would make sure that she was not going to torture Naruto, he called over to her, which immediately changed her mood.

 _Scary…_

"Sasuke! Funny running into you here this late at night! What are you doing, anyways?"

"Nothing."

"Oh!" She giggled, "Well, I'm on my way to Naruto's. I think I made a huge break in this box mystery."

Now that piqued his interest, "Really?"

"Yeah! I need to get the pictures from Naruto to make sure that I'm not wrong, but I think we'll be able to get our answers by tomorrow."

Smirking, Sasuke agreed to follow her. _I'm ready, Kakashi._

* * *

Snoring could be heard as a certain 'Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja' was peacefully dreaming of his coronation as Hokage.

 _"Naruto! We never thought we'd see the day! Congrats!"_

 _"How does it feel to be the Sixth Hokage?"_

 _As Naruto grinned his toothy-grin, he looked out to the crowd and could see familiar faces smiling up at him. Looking next to him, he saw Sakura holding his baby girl._

 _However, his stunning coronation soon turned into an empty black room. In the center of the room, he saw Kakashi-sensei holding a small girl's hand._

 _"Hey, wait... aren't you that girl from the picture?"_

 _"Ah! Naruto! I am! Yup, yup, yup!"_

 _"Naruto."_

 _"Uh, yes Kakashi-sensei?"_

 _"I'd like you to meet my sister."_

 _"YOUR SISTER?!"_

Naruto woke up instantly.

"NARUTO! God, what were you doing? You looked so dumb!"

"S-Sakura?" Looking around, he realized that he was still in his room. _Why is Sakura here?_

Yawning, Naruto asked Sakura what she was doing in his room.

"Sasuke and I know how to find out about the girl once and for all!"

"Oh. Sasuke? SASUKE! What are you doing in here? How did you get in here?"

"Idiot."

"Can I see the pictures, Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah. They're over there."

Steadily, Sakura grabbed the pictures under questions and pointed to a young boy in a green jumpsuit with his arm around the girl.

"He is our answer."


End file.
